Beauty isn’t mentioned very often within churches. Beauty is quite often pushed aside as being superficial, effeminate, fleeting, and purely aesthetic (which it can be).
But if you worship the Creator of heaven and earth, then beauty is inescapable. Christ himself is described as the ‘beautiful one’.
The word ‘glory’ is laced throughout the scriptures and carries with it the notion of the weight of beauty. Whenever the angels declare ‘glory’ to God they are proclaiming the overwhelming density and magnitude of the very source of beauty.
The scriptures go as far as saying that ‘the whole earth is filled with his glory’.
Our planet is chalked full of beauty.
If only we had eyes to see.
Coming soon: The next solarcrash event: broken-beautiful – Join our FB page, with details coming out this week. Let me know if you’d like to contribute.
Just as God has a clear bias towards the poor, the scriptures also reveal that God’s heart leans towards the city.
From Genesis God calls for humanity to be fruitful and multiply. Not simply to reproduce (otherwise Jesus would’ve done a terrible job with this mandate), but to cultivate life in the widest sense – to create culture, to steward over creation, to develop civilizations, and ultimately cities.
Even the ‘garden of eden’ carries with it the idea of a lush park by a palace. A place dense with life near a kingly residence. Seeds of a future city.
God doesn’t allow his people to remain agrarian, and calls for ‘cities of refuge‘ to be made. Cities with leadership, government, jurisdiction, so that people might find safety and progress could continue without ongoing tribal warfare.
In Jeremiah 29 God calls for his people to seek the good of the city. Not to necessarily conform to the city, or to leech off the city, but to be rooted in the city. We are to be city builders.
The Apostle Paul planted churches from city to city because he knew that if he captured the heart of the city, the gospel would flow out from the city centers into the surrounding regions. It’s interesting to note that it seems the smallest unit of the church was referred to as an entire city – ie. the church of Ephesus, Philipi, etc.
God reveals his ultimate vision for humanity in Revelation as ‘a holy city’ descending from heaven. Pieces of Eden like the tree of life and rivers are still there, but it’s wrapped up in a city filled with life. Heaven’s like an urban jungle.
I’ve always loved this quote by Ray Bakke – “If you don’t like the city, you won’t like heaven”
These are just a few snapshot thoughts that could be unpacked a lot more. Your thoughts?
Chapter 8 – Teach her who God is – is brought to you by Juno Award winning recording engineer, photographer, and father of two girls Eugene Huo.
‘A parent’s main job is not to be a parent, but to be a person.’ The moment we understand this we realize that everything the Bible says about being a man or woman of God applies to being a parent.- Douglas Webster, SOULCRAFT
As I listened to the audiobook version of chapter 8 (thus allowing me to surf the web and check my twitter and facebook at the same time) I smiled at the irony of the title. “Show Her Who God Is”. As a seminary trained, serving in the church kind of guy, I thought, “Perfect. This should be easy. I know how to do that.” I have two girls, ages 5 and 6.83 years old. I recalled stunning theological discussions with my oldest when she was a 3 year old about “Where is God?” and “What happens when we die?” I thought about prayer time before bed, and making them go to Sunday school. I thought about all those little moments when I was able to squeeze in an object lesson about sharing, or about kindness. Mentally I gave myself an A+ for teaching my girls about God.
And then I heard the story of a daughter who was most deeply impacted by the memory of her father, sitting in his chair early in the morning, eyes closed in prayer, or reading his Bible. It was that image, she said, that led her to the faith that she now had as an adult. It was that image that changed her path. Just a simple, quiet act on her father’s part. No grand speeches or convincing arguments, just doing faith, sitting and praying and reading the Scripture. She watched him sit in his chair. He was real and so was his faith. That was all it took.
When I was 17 I was similarly impacted by a seemingly small action. I grew up attending church, but by that time I had given up on any kind of meaningful faith. I was adrift, having broken up a relationship with a girl, feeling completely empty and searching for something to fill the void. I happened to be having dinner with someone and as our food came, I picked up my fork and started to dig in. As I lifted the fork to my mouth I looked up and saw my friend* with her eyes closed, in prayer, giving thanks for her food. At that moment I was powerfully reminded of what I was looking for. That simple act of saying grace pushed me to seek out God again, and started my journey of faith that continues on now.
The title of this chapter is really shouldn’t be “Teach her about God” but “Show Her Who God Is”. I realized that showing is a lot different than teaching. Showing is different than talking, different than discussing or preaching, different than lecturing. Showing involves seeing something. Showing involves more than words. It involves being someone, doing something.
If we are to show our daughters who God is, then we need to be men of God. And don’t think that we have to have all the answers. A man of God is not someone who simply has answers, but is a person who earnestly seeks after God and desires to know Him. Meeker suggests that if you know nothing, but begin your faith journey at the same time as your daughter, she will be thrilled. And as you grow in your faith, she will grow in hers.
Meeker writes that as fathers we are often afraid to talk about spiritual matters. We don’t know what to say, and so we back out of saying anything at all. If you are in ministry, and a father, I feel the danger lies in thinking that we do have all the answers. Having all the right theology in the world doesn’t make up for what we fail to do, unfortunately. It doesn’t recover family time lost to committee meetings and message preparation. Work life balance is even more challenging as a minister, and we can easily send the message that our work is more important than our family. We can say that God is close and accessible, but if we are always busy and unapproachable, our daughters will wonder if God is like that too. If we are harsh or demanding with our daughters, or say things that are cruel or belittling, our daughters will wonder if God really is love. Our actions really do speak louder than words.
I have resolved never to preach at home. I will be and do, more than just talk. I will show my girls who God is, by the man I strive to be.
*Incidentally, this friend later became my girlfriend, and then she became my wife and the mother of our two girls. The moral of the story? Never be afraid to say grace, you never know where it might lead!
In my earlier post on the demise of Europe (as we know it) and the related video, there have been a number of comments regarding how it’s due to us turning our backs on God.
My friend Veemak just sent me this below cartoon. Click it to enlarge.
Six months ago when my back snapped and I was confined to bed, I read through the entire twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. Actually I listened to the audiobook, but still, I had to endure the endless teeniebopper descriptions of Edward Cullen’s great physique. (ie. ‘his body shone like diamonds in the sun’, enough to make just about any adult of any sexual-orientation gag).
I doubt many other 30 year old males, especially ministry leaders, or church planters have read through this.
Originally, I just wanted to see what the hype was all about. But, after getting past some of the cheesy writing, I actually liked it.
For parents wondering if they should let their kids read it, I think I’d even encourage my teenage daughter to read it if she was interested. They don’t “do-it” till they’re married in the forth book if you must know.
The whole series provokes lots of great questions for conversation. ie. Whether it is by a vampire or werewolf, why is it that there’s something deeply human about sacrifical love? Can there be something noble about repressing one’s innate desires? Or simply, what is natural?
So yes, I’m a 30 year old male, I’ve read the entire twilight saga, and I enjoyed it.
I haven’t seen the film yet, part of me just wants to leave the story to my imagination.
I was lining up for the Tuesday special at Taco Bell, and overheard the lady next to me making her order with what seemed like forced extra-polite English. I looked over and noticed she was an older Asian lady, and figured she must have immigrated here not too long ago, and imagined what a difficult life it must have been integrating into a new country.
Then I realized she was with her daughter who was probably in her late twenties… with very obvious Down syndrome. It hit me that I had no idea just how hard her life has been and the disappointing realities she must have struggled with.
The lady was gently guiding her daughter though the ordering and payment process at the Taco Bell.
My heart just broke for them.
Not because of the situation they were in, but because I could see the decades of care and concern her mother had for her.
The daughter’s core identity was not that of a Down syndrome sufferer, but a child deeply loved and adored.
Ain’t that the truth about God and all His children?
Two babies are in intensive care, one that will only survive if given a new heart; another with a strong heart, but no chance of survival.
The latter child, Kaylee, was taken off life support, so that her heart could be donated to baby Lillian. Kaylee shocks doctors as she hangs on to life, and according to hospital protocol she can no longer be a candidate for organ donation.
The longer Kaylee stays alive, the less viable her heart becomes for transplant.
Kaylee’s father is quoted as being very upset, not because his child remains alive, but because his daughter’s heart is still good, and their only comfort would be to donate it to baby Lillian who is desperately in need of a new heart.
Besides all the legal and ethical implications of all of this, a few thoughts…
What must it be like, to hope for the death of your own child, so that another might live?
What must it be like to want to give the most precious gift possible (the very heart of your own child), and not be able to do so?
When God and all his angels watched Christ die upon the cross, was there any doubt that life could only come through death?
If this transplant ever does go through, what would it be like for Kaylee’s parents, seeing that other child as they grow up? I imagine some type of deep and special connection, knowing that their dead child’s heart, remains alive beating within another little girl.
Could that be the way God the Father sees us, knowing that a part of his son and his sacrifice, beats within all of us?
Beauty isn’t mentioned very often within churches. Beauty is quite often pushed aside as being superficial, effeminate, fleeting, and purely aesthetic (which it can be).
